College students get degrees in brewing

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Forget the frat houses. Students at a Colorado college can now get credit for brewing and drinking beer.

Colorado State University plans to install a brewery in Lory Student Center’s pub called the Ramskeller to provide students hands-on training.

The university said it’s supply and demand, with a lot of demand for workers in Colorado’s growing microbrewery industry.

CSU’s student brewery proposal is rare and has been done only in a few other schools around the country, including California, Oregon and Illinois.

The CSU beer will not be available outside the university, but it could be served at the Ramskeller — named after the mascot for the CSU Rams.

The brewery is part of a multimillion dollar renovation to the student center.

“What could be better than sitting in the Ramskeller watching brewers at work. I think it is very unique, and that’s what makes it special,” said Michael Ellis, executive director of the student center.

The new operation will be a small, six-barrel system that will be more of a classroom than a production brewery.

According to the Fort Collins Coloradoan ( http://tinyurl.com/at22u9t ), CSU has also expanded a major in fermentation science and technology. Aside from beer, fermentation includes the dairy, wheat, beef, pork, lamb, grape, hop and barley industries.

Northern Colorado is home to nearly a dozen breweries as well as MouCo Cheese Co., Leprino Foods and Noosa Yoghurt that could benefit from the degree. Other Colorado companies include bread makers such as Udi’s, which also involve fermentation.

Jeff McCubbin, CSU College of Health and Human Sciences dean, said that the potential of a campus brewery is unique and of great benefit for a fermentation science degree.

“There is great potential for opportunity for learning experiences if the brewery is developed,” he said. “I certainly hope to draw more students for fermentation science in general.”